Farmyard Wedding

Lindsay and Ian held their wedding reception on a farmyard near their home in the Kent countryside.


The Bride prepared for the big day at the Eastwell Manor Hotel near Ashford then travelled with her Father, George, a few miles up the road to the St Laurence Church in Leaveland for the wedding ceremony.

St Laurence's is a small chapel and there was standing room early during the marriage celebration.




After the ceremony, as the guests looked for the Rolls Royce or Daimler that would be whisking the Bride and Groom away, a very large tractor pulled up outside the gate of the church. It was pulling a trailer with two bales of hay on which was placed an ice bucket containing a bottle of Champagne.


The newly weds jumped aboard for the journey through narrow country lanes and on to the farm for their reception.


One of the barns on the farm had been cleaned up and decked out fabulously by the catering team from Venture 2001. As you can see, they created an intimate atmosphere for the 120 guests using hundreds of lanterns suspended from the rafters using chicken wire and hooks!


The evening entertainment consisted of two local bands and a DJ. The Bride and Groom's first dance was to an unusual but really romantic 'In Spite of Ourselves' by John Prine and Iris DeMent. Later in the evening there was a spectacular firework display that lit up the farm and the surrounding fields.


Lindsay and Ian are now enjoying a honeymoon in Seville with their daughter, Theone.

Wedding in the Lowlands of Kent

There was just a hint of the Scottish about this wedding. Both Eilidh and Andrew's families, the Beatons and the MacLeods, are originally from the Isle of Skye and, although they married in an Anglican church, St Mary the Virgin in Elham, there was definlitely an influence from north of the border.

The bridal bouquet included antique roses and, one of the symbols of Scotland, the thistle. All the floral arrangements were created by Helen Gomez.


As the Bride and Groom signed the register, Eilidh's friend Victoria sang the Robbie Burns' song, 'My Love is Like a Red Red Rose' and, when they left the church the organist played 'Scotland the Brave'.


The couple were whisked away by pony & trap and the wedding breakfast and reception was held in a marquee at Eilidh's parent's house.

After a meal that included smoked duck, salmon and bangers & mash, the Bride & Groom and their guests danced the night away to, what else, a Céilidh.


Mr & Mrs MacLeod are now honeymooning in the Highlands of Thailand.

Wedding at RIBA

Saturday was a nice warm day in London and the wedding we photographed was right in the centre of town.

Catriona and Alex were married in the St Maylebone Parish Church opposite Regents Park and then walked with their guests to the Royal Institute of British Architects in Portland Place where the reception was to be held.


The Bride and Bridesmaids flowers were all supplied by Elizabeth Marsh who also created the fabulous floral displays for the tables.

John Swannell Lecture

Last night fellow photographer Rebecca Pourtsmouth and myself went along to the Royal Geographical Society to see a lecture by the legendary photographer John Swannell.

A packed audience were entertained for around an hour and a half as Swannell showed us examples of his photography taken over the last 30 years or so. His body of work varies from portraits of the Queen and other royals to fashion shoots for Vogue, nudes, landscapes and nudes within landscapes!

He talked about his 4 years working as David Bailey's assistant and how he developed his own career with the help of a lucky break or two.

I've always been a big fan of Swannell's work and was delighted when he insisted on having his photograph taken with me after the lecture :-)

photo by Rebecca Portsmouth